New OPA CEO Jason Kint Says Focus Is On Mobile

CBS Sports SVP and GM Jason Kint will as of May 27 serve as the new CEO of the Online Publishers Association (OPA), a non-profit trade organization representing the interests of premium online publishers like The New York Times, NBCUniversal and the Associated Press. Current OPA president Pam Horan is stepping down after 10 years.

Kint will focus on improving mobile advertising for marketers, publishers and consumers in his new role.

“Mobile is a rocket right now,” he said. “We’ve watched for the past two years the monetization of mobile [is way behind] actual consumption on mobile.”

Kint, who helped build CBS Sports into a multi-platform brand across broadcast, online and mobile channels, is a familiar face at the OPA. Over the last several years, he served on its board and the executive committee.

Programmatic buying and selling also represents a potential area of focus. “Programmatic should be great for the industry,” Kint explained. “That being said, I believe there is a lot that can be done to make sure it's indeed a positive for marketers, publishers and consumers.”

He added: “Any time automation, software, algorithms are involved, it's the responsibility of the humans to make sure the right rules and controls are in the system. It's important that we get this right so that programmatic is looked on as a positive and not just another version of remnant direct response media and retargeting of audience."